The House That Shadows Built

The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a feature compilation film from Paramount Pictures, made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. The film was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release.

The House That Shadows Built
Produced byAdolph Zukor
Jesse L. Lasky
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • 1931 (1931)
Running time
47 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.

Marx Brothers segment

The film is best known for a six-minute segment starring the Marx Brothers, with Ben Taggart playing Mr. Lee, Theatrical Producer, which was intended to promote their forthcoming 1931 film Monkey Business (Clark also played the role of the frustrated Passport Official in Monkey Business and would later appear in the war scene in Duck Soup).

The segment, containing material which was never included in any other Marx Brothers film, is a re-working of the first scene of their first successful Broadway revue I'll Say She Is (1924), which Groucho considered to have been the funniest work in the Brothers' career.

Except for some name changes and a few additional gags, the scene is nearly the same as the script used for the stage production. A few of the gags from I'll Say She Is were worked into the lobby scene in The Cocoanuts (1929), and a bit involving a series of Maurice Chevalier imitations was incorporated into the script of Monkey Business.

The Marx Brothers' segment is currently available as a special feature on the direct-to-DVD documentary film Inside the Marx Brothers, albeit in poor condition. Marx Brothers fans sometimes refer to their segment simply as I'll Say She Is, in light of its source material.

Scenes from silent Paramount films
Year*TitleStar(s)NotesRef
1912Queen ElizabethSarah BernhardtProduced in France[1]
1913The Prisoner of ZendaJ. K. Hackett, playing a dual role[2]
1914The Squaw ManDustin Farnum[3]
1914A Good Little DevilMary PickfordOne reel survives[4]
1915CarmenGeraldine Farrar[5]
1914The Call of the NorthRobert Edeson and Theodore Roberts[6]
1915The CaptiveBlanche Sweet[7]
1917Giving Becky a ChanceVivian Martin and Jack HoltLost film[8]
1917The Undying FlameOlga Petrova and Mahlon HamiltonLost film[9]
1918Huck and TomJack Pickford and Robert Gordon[10]
1915The CheatSessue Hayakawa, Fannie Ward, and Jack Dean[11]
1916The Heart of Nora FlynnMarie Doro[12]
1918The Whispering ChorusElliott Dexter, Kathlyn Williams, and Raymond Hatton[13]
1918Battling JaneDorothy GishLost film[14]
1918Headin' SouthDouglas FairbanksLost film[15]
1917The Little AmericanMary Pickford[16]
1918The Squaw ManElliott DexterSurvives incomplete[17]
1919For Better, for WorseGloria Swanson and Elliott Dexter[18]
1920Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeJohn Barrymore[19]
1920Homer Comes HomeCharles Ray[20]
1919The Miracle ManLon Chaney, Betty Compson, Thomas Meighan and J. M. DumontLost film[21]
1919True Heart SusieLillian Gish[22]
1919Male and FemaleGloria Swanson and Thomas Meighan[23]
1921The Little MinisterBetty Compson[24]
1919The Roaring RoadWallace Reid and Theodore Roberts[25]
1920On With the DanceMae MurrayLost film[26]
1921Sentimental TommyGareth Hughes and May McAvoyLost film[27]
1921The SheikRudolph Valentino and Agnes Ayres[28]
1922Nice PeopleConrad Nagel, Bebe Daniels, William Boyd, and Wallace ReidLost film[29]
1923The Covered Wagon[30]
1924Peter PanBetty Bronson and Mary Brian[31]
1923Wild Bill HickokWilliam S. Hart and Kathleen O'Connor[32]
1926The Grand Duchess and the WaiterAdolphe Menjou and Florence Vidor[33]
1925The Light of Western StarsNoah Beery, Billie Dove, and Jack HoltLost film[34]
1923The Ten Commandments[35]
1926Behind the FrontWallace Beery and Raymond Hatton[36]
1924Forbidden ParadisePola Negri and Rod La Rocque[37]
1925The Vanishing AmericanRichard Dix[38]
1925VarietéEmil Jannings and Lya De PuttiProduced in Germany[39]
1926Beau GesteRonald Colman, Ralph Forbes, and Noah Beery[40]
1927ItClara Bow[41]
1927The Kid BrotherHarold Lloyd and Constantine Romanoff[42]
1927UnderworldGeorge Bancroft[43]
1927WingsGary Cooper, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, and Richard Arlen[44]
*Sorts in order presented in the film

Silent film performers in unidentified silent films

The Lon Chaney Sr. segment is one of only two short sequences which survive from The Miracle Man (1919). The other clip is featured in one of Paramount's Movie Milestone series, Movie Memories (1935), showcasing the studios' greatest achievements. This latter clip shows both a segment from the conclave in Chinatown as well as the healing scene which is in The House That Shadows Built. A nitrate print of Movie Memories is reportedly at the UCLA Film and Television Archive but has not yet been preserved.[45]

Then-current Paramount stars

The film moves on to show segments with Paramount players of the 1931–32 season, including George Bancroft, Nancy Carroll, the Four Marx Brothers, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Clive Brook, Phillips Holmes, Sylvia Sidney, Eleanor Boardman, Frances Dee, Jackie Searl, Kay Francis, Judith Wood, Regis Toomey, Peggy Shannon, Jackie Coogan, Lilyan Tashman, Eugene Pallette, Anna May Wong, Juliette Compton, Stuart Erwin, William Boyd, Miriam Hopkins, Wynne Gibson, Jack Oakie, Ginger Rogers, Robert Coogan, Carmen Barnes, Charlie Ruggles, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Mitzi Green, Richard Arlen, Carole Lombard, Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Paul Lukas, Tallulah Bankhead, Gary Cooper, Ruth Chatterton, Marlene Dietrich, and Maurice Chevalier.

These stars are announced as appearing in upcoming films, including some never produced or released by Paramount:

Scenes are shown that were shot for the following films:

See also

References
  1. "Queen Elizabeth". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. "The Prisoner of Zenda". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. "The Squaw Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. "A Good Little Devil". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. "Carmen". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. "The Call of the North". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  7. "The Captive". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. "Giving Becky a Chance". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. "The Undying Flame". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  10. "Huck and Tom". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. "The Cheat". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. "The Heart of Nora Flynn". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  13. "The Whispering Chorus". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  14. "Battling Jane". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  15. "Headin' South". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  16. "The Little American". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  17. "The Squaw Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  18. "For Better, for Worse". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  19. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  20. "Homer Comes Home". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  21. "The Miracle Man". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  22. "True Heart Susie". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  23. "Male and Female". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  24. "The Little Minister". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  25. "The Roaring Road". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  26. "On With the Dance". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  27. "Sentimental Tommy". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  28. "The Sheik". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  29. "Nice People". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  30. "The Covered Wagon". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  31. "Peter Pan". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  32. "Wild Bill Hickok". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  33. "The Grand Duchess and the Waiter". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  34. "The Light of Western Stars". American Silent Feature Film Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  35. "The Ten Commandments". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  36. "Behind the Front". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  37. "Forbidden Paradise". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  38. "The Vanishing American". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  39. "Varieté". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  40. "Beau Geste". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  41. "It". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  42. "The Kid Brother". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  43. "Underworld". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  44. "Wings". Silent Era. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  45. "SilentEra entry".
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